Artist- Miley Cyrus
Album- Breakout
Miley Cyrus has had a really strong year musically speaking
in 2013, producing hit singles We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball, as well as
topping many charts worldwide with her fourth studio album Bangerz. But this
year has also perhaps been an important year for Cyrus for all the wrong
reasons, as the former Disney Star has conveyed a much more overtly sexualised
image and has given us some risqué music performances. The singer has said that
she basically compromised herself musically in order to gain enough money to
support herself and her family for the future, and it is now that we are
getting to see the true artist. But was the singer’s first album (completely
away from the Hannah Montana franchise) really all that bad, or was the golden
age of Miley Cyrus really back in the days when she was a sweet Disney star?
Track 1- Breakout
Title track and album opener Breakout is fun dance-pop
number with a slight pop rock tinge to it,
where the singer lyrically plays up to her teen role and expresses the idea of
escaping such things as your family and just having fun dancing around and
being a bit silly with your friends. The song is sweet and readily accessible
with a strong pop chorus, whilst vocally Cyrus exudes a lovely vibrancy that
makes the song more infectious to listen to. The cool mix of shimmering
keyboard notes, chiming electric guitar and a fast paced drum beat gives the
song this quick and vibrant quality that starts the record on a good note.
3.5/5
Track 2- 7 Things
One of the singer’s biggest hits at the time of her teen
stardom, 7 Things is a feisty but vulnerable, emotional tune that sees Cyrus
tell an ex-boyfriend just how he has affected her. The song’s lyrics are
written in the second person, where Cyrus talks of the hardships that existed
within the relationship, and the refrain is fun and feisty as the singer tells
her ex seven things she hates about him, but in the end the seventh thing is
that despite his flaws she still loves him. The song perfectly captures the
intensity of teenage love, and vocally Cyrus is great in the way that she goes
from the softness of the verses to the quick aggressiveness of the chorus with
ease. The pop rock production on the song nicely deviates from simple guitar
riffs to stomping drum beats and a slight country feel that just adds to the emotional
intensity, making this a track where you can easily see why it is was so
popular at the height of the singer’s teen stardom.
3.5/5
Track 3- The Driveway
With an aggressive guitar riff, The Driveway is shown to be
an emotionally potent number from the beginning. A power ballad, the song
lyrically focuses on a break up in which Cyrus expresses the fact that it is
too late to salvage the relationship. The song sees the singer commendably take
on a powerful vocal performance, and although this is a cool breakup song, it
very much sounds and feels like it is coming from a teenage perspective where
you can’t fully understand things, and so this will only appeal to younger
listeners. The forceful pop rock production is also a little bland in terms of
the sound feeling familiar for this kind of pop ballad, and it might have
worked better to just keep things a bit simpler, even if the use of guitars
towards the end of the song is great.
2.5/5
Track 4- Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun finds Cyrus taking on a Cyndi
Lauper classic and changing the reggae infused pop of the original track,
making her version more of a forceful pop rock offering. As a result some of
the charm and light, infectious fun of the original song is lost, and although
she doesn’t murder the song vocally, it does come across with this version like
Cyrus is trying too hard to show that she is having fun, and she may actually
not be doing so. The stabs of strings within the song adds a cool texture to
the sound and for the singers teen audience at the time the song would probably
work, as they would most likely not know the original track, but I am just
grateful this was never released as a single or we might have had a little
Cyndi Lauper Miley Cyrus feud going on.
2/5
Track 5- Full Circle
Featuring a stomping drum beat and light guitar riffs, Full
Circle is an emotionally loaded song in which Cyrus lyrically expresses her
feelings for this person and how she will not quit on this relationship. The
song features a great use of different hooks which makes the song very catchy,
and vocally Cyrus is strong as she doesn’t overuse her voice and shows of some
nice range. The pop rock production is a bit overpowering and safe, but it
suits the lyrical message and simply caters well to a teen audience, whilst working
well with the overall sound of the record.
3.5/5
Track 6- Fly on the
Wall
Cyrus changes things up a bit with Fly on the Wall, a song
that still has an influence of pop rock but which also incorporates more
electronic vibes into the singer’s music. Furthermore, the lyrics are also more
intriguing and catchy in the way that they can be related to a variety of
topics. Here Cyrus things of how this person/s would want to be a fly on the
wall to discover what she was doing all the time. With a snappy, solid pop
chorus, the song is fun as it can simply relate to a controlling boyfriend, or
can have a bigger meaning, such as the singers life being full of paparazzi
(which Cyrus has stated was the primary concept of the track). Cyrus vocally
imbues the song with a feisty and also slightly flirtatious attitude, with the
chorus being catchy through the use of vocal layering. The stomping pop rock
sound with the vibrant electronic notes and handclapping fun of the bridge
makes for a strong sound that is both radio friendly and a bit more intriguing
than some of the other songs.
3.5/5
Track 7- Bottom of
the Ocean
From the feisty fun tone of the previous track we are
transferred to a mid tempo, emotionally wrought level with contemporary ballad
Bottom of the Ocean. The song finds Cyrus expressing how she will have to find
the love that she once had with this person in another way, whilst also moving
on, even if it is buried deep and if it is hard to understand why things have
changed this way. The song is lyrically a bit more sophisticated even with some
of the clichéd statements and the annoying ‘do do do do’ hook. Vocally we get
to hear a softer side to the singer’s voice and she shows off her voice to
better effect. And the production is cool in terms of the more minimalist
approach, with the use of atmospheric synth flourishes giving the song this
riding on wave’s quality that perfectly melds with the lyrical message.
3.5/5
Track 8- Wake Up
America
Taking things back to an up tempo pop rock state, Wake Up
America finds Cyrus instilling positive messages into her audience and
reflecting on how she doesn’t quite understand the whole thing about global
warming, but she believes that people should do something and that we should
make this a better place for the next generation. It might feel a bit silly
coming from such a young woman but she astutely focuses on the topic and gives
a voice to a cause, showing that this is a smart young woman. Vocally the
singer gives us an attitude filled vocal in the verses as she seems to play the
role of someone who doesn’t really care, before she simply launches into the
chorus and emphasises that everything that we do does matter. The simple
production value of the track gives the song a light pop sound with a fun
guitar riff that just makes the lyrical message more pure and simple.
3.5/5
Track 9- These Four
Walls
These Four Walls is a ballad that finds the singer delving
into her country roots more prominently. Lyrically the song comes from an interior
perspective where the singer analyses this situation and how things broke down
to the point that she just wishes things were back to the way they were. The
song is lyrically not that strong and clichéd, but vocally Cyrus shows some of
the power in her voice and gives a twang to her vocal performance that shows
that the country genre would be a strong sound for her, whilst the style of the
vocal also gives an extra layer of emotion to the track. The songs sound also
melds more of a country vibe into the singers music in terms of the style of
the guitar riffs and the forceful drums, and the only issue with the sound is
that it gets too powerful too quickly, and it maybe would have been stronger to
just here Cyrus’ voice in a simpler setting.
3/5
Track 10- Simple
Song
Simple Song is not that apt a title for conveying the
lyrical message, as here we find the singer giving a voice to the perils of
coming of age in which you sometimes really can’t understand things and just
alienate yourself. The way the song floats from this really aggressive rock,
angst driven teenage sound to a barer, piano driven sound nicely conveys the
personality of being a teenager, but musically this means that the song will
only really appeal to a teenage audience, with the vocals also exemplifying
this as the singer very much sounds her age.
3/5
Track 11- Goodbye
Goodbye is a soft, more acoustically driven song in which
Cyrus expresses the idea of remembering simple times with this person and
becoming upset by this, whilst she wishes she could forget the fact that she
has said goodbye to this person. The lyrics are simple and catchy with the song
being elevated by the singer’s vocal performance, which has more of a raw,
rootsy tone that is great to listen to. Production on the track is great in
terms of the blend of strings and guitar to create a powerful but more natural
sound to accompany the singers vocals and really let the artist shine, and at
this point it would have been nice to just here a little more of this side of Cyrus.
3.5/5
Track 12- See You
Again (Rock Mafia Remix)
Second single and closing song See You Again is a remix of a
track that originally appeared on the album Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus.
The song is a fun dance pop track that lyrically focuses on a teen romance. The
songs verses find the singer reflecting upon her perceptions about her love
interest, before the catchy chorus kicks in and Cyrus focuses on the different
times she has been with her love interest and how she cannot wait to see him
again. The stomping dance rhythm of the track is fun and more forceful and interesting
to listen to, whilst vocally the singer plays the role of a love-struck
teenager very well.
3.5/5
Final Review
Breakout is a fun pop record from Cyrus that shows that she
could make some good music back in her teen idol days. The albums pop rock
orientated sound is simple but effective whilst vocally the singer embodies the
spirit of each track quite well. Lyrically the songs are smart and catchy, and
so Breakout is just a fun record. That being said, some of the songs are
terribly clichéd, and vocally the album is a bit patchy, with Cyrus coming
across as an annoying teenager on some occasions. The pop rock production also
becomes bland after a while, and this very much feels like a teen pop record
that works well for a certain audience but won’t appeal to the majority. People
may not like it, and her music may not have been that bad in the past, but now
the singer has decided to grow up, and her music is stronger because of this.
5/10
Best Track- Goodbye
Worst Track- Girls
Just Wanna Have Fun
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